‘Right-wing’ populism a threat to airline industry — IATA

The rise in “right-wing populism” around the world is a threat to the growth of the airline industry and global air travel, the chief economist of the IATA said Tuesday. Right-wing movements from Europe to the US challenging established political systems have becoming increasingly popular, pitching tighter, protectionist trade policies. It is these policies, which also include closing borders to foreign citizens, that threaten growth of air travel demand, chief economist Brian Pearce said. The June Brexit referendum is one of many examples that analysts and commentators argue is the rise of right-wing populism. In the US, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has called for renegotiating or even reneging from international trade agreements while also setting out a policy of building a wall on its southern border with Mexico. <br/>